Mycobacteria

This is a discussion on Mycobacteria within the Betta Fish Articles forums, part of the Articles category; -->
*hugs pet rats who are only 4-5 months old*
What I'm beginning to find interesting is that when I compare the symptoms that Coppermoon ...

What I'm beginning to find interesting is that when I compare the symptoms that Coppermoon describes and what BB is describing, they are different. Copper's symptoms mirror the "mystery disease" while BB's are more along the lines of what we typically think of when we think of mycobacteria: slower-moving, wasting, ulcers and sores. This makes me think that the strain of myco that Coppermoon had and what BB had must be different. BB says her is myco triplex, which is a newer strain (previously, there were only a few identified strains that caused problems in the aquarium: m. marinum, m. fortuitum, and m. chelonae). I wonder then if there is yet another new strain that Coppermoon had and which causes our mystery disease; this new strain, if does exist, seems to prey on some sort of genetic weakness in blue bettas.

What I'm beginning to find interesting is that when I compare the symptoms that Coppermoon describes and what BB is describing, they are different. Copper's symptoms mirror the "mystery disease" while BB's are more along the lines of what we typically think of when we think of mycobacteria: slower-moving, wasting, ulcers and sores. This makes me think that the strain of myco that Coppermoon had and what BB had must be different. BB says her is myco triplex, which is a newer strain (previously, there were only a few identified strains that caused problems in the aquarium: m. marinum, m. fortuitum, and m. chelonae). I wonder then if there is yet another new strain that Coppermoon had and which causes our mystery disease; this new strain, if does exist, seems to prey on some sort of genetic weakness in blue bettas.

How can you know if a fish has it!?! All your fish looked healthy until some got sick right? I have a WalMart Betta, a PetSmart Betta, and some PetSmart inverts. Is any chain worse than others? Shouldd I give up on ever getting a larger sororiety tank? What about QT? Can you tell after x days that they have it?Posted via Mobile Device

I just want to say thank you to BB as I was not aware of these type of problems and am actively working on my set up to prevent trouble. I also want to acknowledge and say how sorry I am to hear that BB lost her fish, that must have been beyond heartbreaking. I can only imagine. I am very sorry.

The reason this upsets me so much is because I feel like this is just Mycoplasma all over again but in fish....

For those of you who don't know, Mycoplasma is a disease that every domestic rat has. It is an autoimmune disease and it shortens the lifespan of every pet rat. If it weren't for Mycoplasma, domestic rats would living 5, maybe 6 years regularly...But because of this many don't make it past 3 or 4. every single domestic rat has it...they get it in the birth canal. Wild rats are not affected by this.

Now I am worried that it will be the same story for our pet betta fish...

I know that this is a random question, but is there anyway to remove the disease from the pet rat population? Like preforming a C-Section on the mother to bypass the birth canal? I know that a few would be most likely sacraficed for it and it would take some skilled people to do it, but it would help so many others!Posted via Mobile Device

I know that this is a random question, but is there anyway to remove the disease from the pet rat population? Like preforming a C-Section on the mother to bypass the birth canal? I know that a few would be most likely sacraficed for it and it would take some skilled people to do it, but it would help so many others!Posted via Mobile Device

I've heard that in laboratories they have had litters without it by killing the mother before births. Then the litter has to be in a sterile invironment and never touch anything that another rat has ever touched. /:

Bluewind, there is no way you can tell if your fish has this or not without cutting the fish open. Symptoms may or may not appear and if they do, the symptoms would be wasting away, ulcers, lethargy, and loss of appetite. However, these symptoms can mean any number of illnesses.

My best advice is to learn from BB and practice good fishkeeping, always keeping the water clean and warm, and enjoy your fish. Don't worry about this disease unless you have to.